


White Collar Drabbles with Hurts & Feels Fills

by angel



Series: Drabble/Ficlet Meme Fills [5]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Broken Bones, Grief/Mourning, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, Presumed Dead, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-13 10:51:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2147982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel/pseuds/angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fills from the Drabbles with Hurts & Feels meme at my LJ.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Neal - the sads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> embroiderama requested: Neal - the sads

Neal was unhappy. There wasn't anything in recent memory that was making him feel this way. No cases had gone south nor had he had needed to do any "outside the box" thinking that usually got him in some sort of trouble with Peter. The cases had been pretty dull, but they'd had stretches of that before during his work with the FBI. 

It was a sunny day outside, but Neal didn't want to sit on the terrace or set up his easel to paint the light glinting off the Chrysler Building. He kind of wanted to curl up in bed and sleep the day away.

Mozzie was off in Jersey for a mysterious meeting he'd declined to tell Neal about, and Peter and Elizabeth had gone to DC for the day. Elizabeth wanted to see the Charles Marville exhibit, Peter had explained when he called to tell Neal to stay out of trouble. Also, June was out of the country with Cindy, checking out post-grad art programs in Europe. 

With a sigh, Neal opened his computer and decided to see if Sara was on Skype. He tapped his fingers as he waited for the program to connect, and as soon as he saw her sleepy but smiling face, he felt immensely better. 

~End


	2. Neal, agony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pooh_collector requested: Neal, agony

Neal lay on his back and tried to breathe through the pain that was his entire being. He had no idea where the rest of his team was. Worse yet, he didn't know where the bad guys were. There were three of them, and they'd all opened fire unexpectedly when Peter, Jones and Diana had moved into to arrest them for their embezzlement exploits.

"Ahhhh!" Neal cried out in agony when hands suddenly pressed down on the wound in his shoulder. 

"Neal? Can you hear me? Neal?!"

Peter's voice. Neal struggled to open his eyes to look at his partner. 

"Hey. You're going to be okay. Diana radioed for a bus. Just stay awake. Stay with me."

Neal tried to respond but coughed and cried out again as the movement jarred his shoulder. 

"Shhh. Don't try to talk. Just open your eyes. Neal? Open your eyes!"

It was even harder this time, but Neal obeyed. He locked his gaze with Peter's and was startled to see how rattled Peter looked. His eyes were wide, and his face was pinched in concentration, like he could will Neal to be okay if he tried hard enough. 

"You're going to be okay," Peter repeated. 

Neal could do nothing but believe him. Peter was never wrong.

~End


	3. Neal, broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> doctor_fangeek requested: Neal, broken

Pain in his chest was his first clue that something wasn't right. The inability to take a full breath was the second. Neal tucked his left arm close to his chest and bent over to try and draw in more air. 

"You okay, Caffrey?" Diana asked. She sounded concerned, which was a tone Neal wasn't sure he'd ever heard from her before. 

He looked up but didn't straighten. "Diana, you do care. I'm touched."

"Don't make me hit you."

He tried to laugh but wound up choking on air and then coughing. Pain stabbed his chest from the inside, and he fell to his knees.

"Neal?!" Diana's hands were on him, but Neal could only curl in on himself and try to take as small a breath as he could. He'd never broken a rib before, but he was positive that he had this time, and also he never wanted to do it again.

A large, warm hand was suddenly rubbing circles on his back. "Take it easy," Peter said. "Medics are on their way. Just hang on."

"Did-" Neal took a painful breath. "Get him?"

"Yeah, we got him." 

Their takedown of a suspect had gone south when he realized that Neal wasn't actually a rare gem buyer. He'd shoved Neal into the sharp edge of the jewelry store counter before making a run for it. He was glad they'd caught the bastard.

~End


	4. Peter - Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> scarym1 requested: Peter - Hope

Peter sat with his back to one of the cold cinder block walls that lined his six by nine AdSeg cell. His legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, and his eyes were closed as he tried to imagine that he was sitting on the floor of his own home with his back to the couch. 

Satchmo would be laying beside him with his warm body pressing along the length of Peter's leg, and Elizabeth would be on the couch behind him. One of her hands would be buried in his hair as she gently scratched at his scalp absentmindedly while she read a romance novel and he watched a game. 

It could be any Sunday except the most recent ones. Peter sighed and rubbed at the stubble on his face. It was itchy because he was unaccustomed to it. He just didn't feel like putting the effort into it, and the razors provided by the prison system were awful. 

Suddenly, a guard stepped up to the door and unlocked it. "On your feet, Burke. You have a visitor."

"Who is it?"

"A lawyer named Havisham." 

Hope surged in Peter's chest, momentarily stealing his breath. If Mozzie was here, then there must be a plan to get him out of prison. As much as Peter didn't want Neal and Mozzie to do anything outside the realm of the law, he also didn't know how much longer he could live in this box. He wasn't guilty, and he just wanted to be home with his wife and dog. He hoped the nightmare was about to end.

~End


	5. Diana, aches (Unbreakable 'verse)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sheenianni requested: Diana, aches

Timeline: 3 or 4 Weeks after Neal and Diana were rescued

 

Diana's side still ached when she moved too quickly or twisted too far in the wrong direction. It had only been a few weeks since her spleen had been removed, and she was healing well but not quickly enough for her. 

She must have made a sound when she rolled over in her sleep because Neal's hand was suddenly on her shoulder. "Di?" Neal's voice was rough and worried. "Okay?"

"Yeah. Go back to sleep, Neal."

He shifted, and she closed her eyes to shield them from the light she knew he was about to turn on. The clock had told her it was nearing four a.m. and there was no moon to illuminate even a little of Neal's apartment. 

She turned over, pressed her forehead into his thigh, and immediately felt better when his hand brushed her hair aside and started kneading the back of her neck. "We should be sleeping."

He shrugged. "Did you have a dream?"

"Yeah. I'm okay."

"I know." He rubbed at her neck for another minute before asking, "Do you want to watch some TV?"

"Sure. That sounds good."

Neal smiled gently at her and slid down in the bed so that she could rest her head on his shoulder and he could put his arm around her. Then, he grabbed the remote off his nightstand and started channel surfing. They settled on an episode of Meerkat Manor that was replaying on Animal Planet and fell back to sleep to the narration. 

~End


	6. Peter, relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aragarna requested: Peter, relief

Peter sagged against the door to Neal's hospital room and breathed a sigh of relief. It was from the first full breath he felt like he'd taken since Neal's anklet had been cut four weeks ago. 

A month of not knowing where he was or what was happening to him had frayed Peter's nerves to the breaking point. His initial reaction had been that Neal had cut-and-run after the news that his sentence wouldn't be commuted, but that didn't feel right. Neal had been understandably upset, but Peter didn't really think he'd take off like that. Not anymore.

Then, Mozzie had come to him late one night. Neal hadn't contacted him, hadn't taken any of his go-bags, hadn't been spotted by any of Mozzie's contacts. He had simply vanished. 

The pooled resources of the FBI and the criminal underworld still hadn't been able to find a trace of Neal Caffrey. The man just showed up in the ER of Bellevue two hours ago, asked them to contact Special Agent Peter Burke, and promptly passed out.

The diagnosis was dehydration, malnutrition, and a badly infected ankle wound from being chained up by the appendage. Neal was resting comfortably, knocked on sedatives, and Peter was free to look over every inch of him and let the relief wash over him. He may not have found Neal, but Neal had found his way back. Peter hoped like hell that his partner would be okay.

~End


	7. Neal, terror (Neal/Peter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kanarek13 requested: Neal, terror

Neal woke with his heart hammering in his chest. Pure terror forced the adrenalin through his system, making him feel like he'd just run a five minute mile.

He took a shaky breath and slid out of bed to walk silently across his apartment to the bathroom. Inside, he splashed cold water on his face until his hands stopped trembling and his heart calmed.

As soon as he stepped back into the main room, the lamp beside the bed flicked on and Peter squinted at him. "Neal? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He jerked his thumb over his back and shrugged. "Bathroom."

Peter raised an eyebrow and sat up so that he could cross his arms over his chest. "Neal."

"I'm fine. It was nothing. Just a dream about-" Neal flapped his hand in the air as he climbed back into bed beside his partner. 

"That hostage situation was not your fault. Diana's fine, and so are you."

"I know, I know." Neal leaned over and kissed Peter to keep him from saying anything more. "I'm tired. Let's go back to sleep."

"Okay, but if you're up again, then you're not going in to work tomorrow."

"You promise?" Neal tried to tease, but Peter just gave him a concerned look and tugged him down and into his arms. 

"Try to get some sleep."

"I will. You too."

~End


	8. Satchmo - loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sinfulslasher requested: Satchmo - loss

Neal was the first to go. Satchmo loved Neal's behind the ears scratches the best out of everyone's, but he'd heard Neal and Peter arguing outside and then Neal had just… gone and never come back. Satchmo missed Neal.

Mozzie was the next. He too had an argument with Peter, but inside the house and with lots more shouting. He'd screamed about Neal, but Peter had sent him away. Satchmo missed Mozzie.

Then, Elizabeth packed a lot of things into boxes and strange men came and picked them up. She sometimes came home for a couple of nights at a time, and she made sure to spend time with him, but Satchmo was sad every time she hoisted her suitcase and left. Satchmo missed Elizabeth a lot.

He didn't get up from his bed when Peter came home late and called him into the kitchen for dinner. He wasn't hungry, and he didn't know what he'd done but all his humans were disappearing. All of them except for Peter, but even he was slowly slipping away. Satchmo already missed Peter.

~End


	9. Peter - Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> elrhiarhodan requested: Peter - Grief

Peter took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He couldn't do this while looking out at all of the somber, wet-eyed familiar faces of his friends and co-workers.

"Neal Caffrey was… Neal… Well, he was a lot of things. He was a co-worker and a friend. He was kind but could be ruthless when he needed to be. He was reckless but brave. He was also a pain in my ass-" nervous chuckles rose from the group "-but he was so damn smart." Peter paused to gather his thoughts and take another breath. "He was a man who needed someone to show him the right path, and I hope I was able to do that for him. Neal, we - I - will miss you."

There was a gasp in the crowd, which was quickly followed by murmuring that was gaining in intensity. 

Peter opened his eyes and immediately thought he was hallucinating. Too little sleep and too much grief had clearly taken its toll because standing at the back of the church in the middle of the aisle was Neal Caffrey. The dead Neal Caffrey… except he looked very much alive. He was wearing dirty chinos and a button-down that had seen better days. His face had several days worth of beard, but his eyes were clear and bright when they locked on Peter's, and his smile then was genuine.

Peter didn't remember how he got from the pulpit to the back of the church, but he suddenly had his arms around Neal, and Neal was hugging him back. Neal was breathing and crying and whole in his arms, and Peter never wanted to let go.

~End


End file.
